Ōka Ranman
by Ryujin Mei
Summary: "In this era, I'd like to prove it with you...my comrade" Samurai dreeeeam breaker (Gotcharocka) For Amano Shūya, the concept of comradeship and the spirit of the samurai is foreign. Why should he care anyway? Shogun-sama no longer needs the Shinsengumi. Even so...what is it that Ibuki is trying to prove to him? Why should the Shinsengumi be allowed to survive?


**_XD I'm kinda stuck on Higanbana no Kizuna and I got an idea for another one (where Ryu-kun will finally be cool :P) Please let me know what you think~_**

桜花爛漫 (ōka Ranman) : Brilliant Cherry Blossoms

* * *

 _I can't see for the falling flowers_

 _But I'll go now, through a world I'm yet to see_

 _\- Kagrra '_ ōka Ranman'

* * *

 **[Prologue: 1873, Summer]**

It was a greeting one wouldn't normally expect to hear.

At least, not from someone he had considered a friend. _Friend... huh, was that really the word?_ he thought as he stopped in his tracks and stared back at the scowling face of the slightly younger man with an amused smile.

Unlike the comfortable traditional Japanese outfit of the younger man, he was dressed in the Western style army uniform of the Imperial Army Forces, his black trousers partially torn at the knees and his knee high black boots caked in mud (not that it showed very clearly). The glinting array of various medallions pinned onto the lapel of his jacket and the deep red armband around his left arm indicated that he was in the military. Despite the sweltering weather, he didn't seem bothered by the uniform or the odd jacket he was wearing.

To be accurate, the jacket wasn't what would be considered a jacket in any time and place. The man had a light blue kimono, lavishly decorated with distinct white triangular patterns around the sleeves and the hem which just reached his ankles; worn in the same manner as a traditional _haori._ How he managed to move around in battle was anyone's guess.

"What the fuck are doing you here alive? You're supposed to be dead. _You fucking traitor_."

That was the first thing Ibuki Ryūnosuke said to the man standing in front of him. It had been 3 years since the surrender of Edo, now the chaotic times would soon be a thing of the past. The doomed pride of the Shinsengumi as they refused to surrender had been swept into the pages of history. He had been present when the Imperial Forces announced their victory and stood quietly when the deaths of the men he had looked up to were announced.

Shizu had cried for him, but he didn't shed a tear. Instead, decided then to keep the memories of those great men alive forever. They were the ones who were supposed to have won, the Mibu Wolves who fought with pride and refused to give in. Not the men who had sold out their allies during that damned battle. His friend was one of them, but he had chosen to stay back and provide assistance at Aizu, promising to protect the Shinsengumi with his life.

He should have died back then, alongside their comrades.

So then, why was _he_ here?

"Geez, that's not something you should be saying to the man who spared your life."

The man he had addressed placed a hand dramatically over his eyes and clutched his chest with the other in a mocking fashion. He lowered his hand and looked almost pitying at Ryūnosuke.

"What else would you expect from someone like me though? Honestly..."

"Please don't tell me you still go around wearing that ridiculous getup," sighed Ibuki as he clicked his tongue with disdain. Now that the Imperial court were in full control, the Emperor had been fixated on 'modernising' Japan as much as possible, wherever he looked, it was impossible to ignore the growing Western influence. Roads and cars were becoming more commonplace, especially in Edo-no, Tokyo. It would take a while to get used to things.

"Shut it. They don't let us wear our _haori_ anymore," mused the man, his voice tinged with nostalgia as he straightened the sleeve with a quick pull. The pale blue cloth flapped in the breeze, displaying the distinct white triangular pattern, reminiscent of mountains. "This is my way of carrying on the spirit of the Shinsengumi we worked so hard to protect. "

" _we_? ' _our_ '?" Ibuki simply narrowed his eyes with amusement and scoffed "Since when did you consider yourself one of _us_? Pfft, ' _protect_ '? You're the one who threw us to the dogs of the Imperial court! You don't know shit about the pride symbolised by that _haori_! " His voice rose as he became more and more angry while his companion watched on with a smile on his face. "You have no right to desecrate their memory like that."

"You're completely right." The man smiled, either oblivious to Ryūnosuke's anger or ignoring it completely as he shrugged. "It's meaningless to me, I'm simply wearing it because I forgot my normal _kimono_ at home! "

If his conversation partner had been a simple merchant down at the marketplace, or even a traveller, Ryūnosuke would have punched his lights out. Unfortunately, or fortunately, his companion just so happened to be an exceptionally skilled trained army general. (On an unrelated note, Ryūnosuke had once been the 8th Unit lieutenant within the Shinsengumi.)

Not to mention this was the man who he owed his life to. Still, that didn't change what he had done back then.

"Quit shitting around," snapped Ibuki with slight irritation evident in his voice as he raised his head and looked squarely at the man "You did it, didn't you? You broke your promise and let them die." His voice rose as he raised a finger and pointed it directly at the man-his face was still smiling slightly, as if something amusing was going on.

"You killed the Shinsengumi."

Ibuki's accusation hung in the air as the other man slowly lowered his head and shrugged, waving his hands almost mockingly.

"If that's what you intend to believe, then, fine by me."

"Fuck you and your shitty responses," snapped Ryūnosuke as he shook his head with annoyance. The way he never really answered questions still hadn't changed. Always stepping around and avoiding things, never wanting to face things head on. It had annoyed Hijikata and Saitō to no end and Ryūnosuke was no exception.

"Just answer the fucking question. Why did you do that? Why did you stab them in the back? Wasn't selling off Kondo enough for you?"

A passing young woman walking with her child turned and gave them a curious glance. Neither of the men paid her any attention as they stood silently confronting each other. The man sighed and finally broke the short silence.

"You're not going to make me explain everything, right?" he raised his hands to briefly shield his eyes from the harsh glint of sunlight reflected off the puddles on the ground as he turned to his companion with a snide smile on his face. "You always were the dense one."

Ryūnosuke made a grunting sound and raised an eyebrow . " Huh." He glanced back at his friend, noticing that his face still retained that youthful carefree appearance, though one of his brown eyes had seeming faded to a pale blue colour (Ryūnosuke thought better than to ask) and a faint scar cut across the upper part of his left cheek, just below the eye.

"They're all alive...well, the ones I was able to save. Heh, guess my rank actually did come in handy for once," chuckled the man as he briefly covered his damaged eye with a gloved hand. While he hadn't been shot, the shrapnel from the gunshot back then had partially blinded him, resulting in the discolouration of his pupil and scarring his face. " _Well, better off than Kakuma I guess...he's completely blind."_

"Sanosuke-san and Shinpachi-san are still alive. Last I heard Sanosuke-san had knocked up his wife and Nagakura-san was engaged to the daughter of that toothpick store owner down in Kanagawa. Hajime's working in Edo as a member of the police force alongside Okita-san , and as for Toshizo...heh..." he paused to chuckle and looked directly at Ryūnosuke who raised an eyebrow back as he waited for his friend to continue. "Technically, he's dead to the world. Though right now he's living safely in Kyoto with Chizuru-san. Katsū-sensei agreed it was the best course of action"

The sour expression on Ryūnosuke's face disappeared as he looked with wonder at his friend. "You aren't such a shitty bastard at all. Geez sorry for saying all those harsh things ma-"

"-so, what about you? Have you grown a pair yet?"

The smile on his face was wiped out completely and the brief sense of pride he had just place in his friend had gone.

Ryūnosuke turned red and glared at his friend "T-that's none of your business! Why are you so fixated on my personal life?"

"As a friend, and fellow man I worry about you. Surely your cute little wife hasn't said anything about it?" he stepped closer to Ryūnosuke and covered the side of his mouth as he whispered discreetly "Could it be, you can't ge-

"-G-guh! Shut up! What about _you_? Surely a womanising bastard like you would have settled down with someone by now? "

His friend's eyes took on a faraway gleam as he looked off into the distance and sighed "My one true love will always be a samurai before a woman." He laughed bitterly and sighed "Besides, have you forgotten I was married back then already? Well, my marriage is simply one of convenience for our families. Nothing more, nothing less I suppose."

"Hey, Shūya, where are you headed now?"

At those words, man now known as 'Shūya' turned to face his companion. A faint smile on his face as the wind ruffled his already messy long hair, tracing the faint scar on his cheek as he took a step forward.

"Hmm. I was thinking of taking a page from Jippensha-sensei's book and travel around Tokyo-see the sights and sounds, though, dropping in to disturb Toshizo's love nest doesn't sound too bad."

"I like the way you think. Don't think you can leave me out of this, you bastard."

"What about Shizu-san? Won't she be worried sick if her husband doesn't come home?"

"Ehh, let's work that out later when we get home. She'll be excited to see you again."

 **~X~X~X~**

Under the merciless Kyoto summer sun, two men stood on the opposite sides of a forked path.

One had just returned from a visit to the grave of his fallen master. One was simply wandering wherever the wind took him (he was actually on leave).

One was dressed in Japanese clothing, a blue kimono with a grey haori. The torn sleeve had been mended with care by his wife, though knowing him, it would probably need fixing again.

The other was wearing a Western army uniform with a pale blue kimono draped over his shoulders like a jacket, the white mountain patterns contrasting with the light blue colour of the fabric. A book was tucked in his belt instead of a katana.

A snow of pale pink and white surrounded the two as they smiled and began walking side-by-side down the road.

It was at that moment that Amano Shūya began to open his eyes.

* * *

 ** _Hai hai! It's Mei here again! Except this time I've got my awesome friend Aoi-chan (Kyuma Aoi) helping out! We thought it'd be interesting to have a male protagonist since it's different and cos we both thought Ryūnosuke was (in Aoi's word) 'figuratively castrated by Otomate' we could make him so much more badass and focus on the manly spirit of MATESHIP instead of overdone OC romance. and who's guilty of overdone oc romance? *raises hand* ME! XP_**

 ** _Anyways, it's mainly me doing the stuff XD Aoi just helps me with ideas and the Japanese stuff I don't get XP *ahem* So..this is kinda AUish...Ryūnosuke will be the Lieutenant in Unit 8 (with Sano-chan!) and as for his friend... teeheee~ keep on reading to find out more! :P_**

 ** _FYI, Shūya's outfit looks something like the outfit Gotcharocka wore during their Gekiai promotions, EXCEPT! instead of the SS Uniform, it's the Imperial Army Uniform and the kimono is coloured like the Shinsengumi one. (Aoi: Damn the Natzi for ensuring a classy Hugo Boss outfit is synonymous with genocide.)_**

 ** _And some interesting stuff about my oc!_**

*Amano Shūya ( 天野 終夜)

Amano means: 'Heaven's field' XD also Aoi-chan's real surname LOL! and Shūya is a combination of two words '終' means end (normally said as Saigo..XD apparently this would never be a real name but BLEH! ) and (夜) means night or darkness! So his name means 'end of darkness ' :D.


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